Liège Airport Quietly Reopens Xinjiang Cargo Route

Liège Airport has reestablished a cargo air route connecting Belgium to China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, operating the flights discreetly without public announcement, according to an investigation by La Libre Belgique. Beijing Capital Airlines operated an Airbus A330 cargo flight from Ürümqi, the regional capital, to Liège on June 8, with a second flight scheduled for June 10. The route connects a region where governments, United Nations bodies, and human rights organizations have documented systematic forced labor of Uyghur Muslims.

Background and Context

This is not the first such link between Xinjiang and Liège. In 2018, a cargo route from Ürümqi to Liège operated briefly before being discontinued. In February 2022, La Libre Belgique reported that 75 tonnes of goods had transited from Kashgar, Xinjiang’s second-largest city, to Liège via Maltese carrier AirX. The current flights are part of a much larger pattern: according to the Uyghur Human Rights Project, between June 2024 and May 2025, nine cargo companies launched new air freight services from Ürümqi to over a dozen European cities. By May 2025, up to 2,000 tonnes of goods were entering the EU, UK, and Switzerland monthly from the region.

The Discreet Launch

Unlike other route announcements, Liège Airport did not publicly communicate about this new connection. The route was identified through flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 and confirmed by an anonymous source cited by La Libre Belgique. “A new link between Liège Airport and the Uyghur Autonomous Region appeared, in complete discretion, this week, a source tells us,” the newspaper reported. It remains unclear whether the flights are a one-time arrangement or the beginning of regular service.

The Broader Air Silk Road

The route is part of China’s rapidly expanding “Air Silk Road,” a key pillar of the Belt and Road Initiative. As Politico reported in August 2025, over 40 freight routes now connect Xinjiang to European destinations including the UK, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Switzerland, and Spain. The cargo — e-commerce goods, textiles, footwear, electronics, and agricultural products — comes from sectors documented as high-risk for forced labor involvement.

Liège Airport has aggressively positioned itself as a European cargo hub for Chinese e-commerce. Beijing Capital Airlines has operated from Liège since June 2024 on a route connecting Nanchang, China, to the Belgian airport. Alibaba’s logistics subsidiary Cainiao also operates from Liège, though it abandoned plans for phases 3 and 4 of its expansion in October 2025.

Human Rights Concerns

Xinjiang has been at the center of international controversy since 2017, when multiple governments, UN bodies, and human rights organizations began documenting systematic abuses including mass detention, forced labor, and cultural erasure targeting Uyghur Muslims. The US and UK have formally recognized China’s actions as genocide. In January 2026, UN experts expressed deep alarm over reports of forced labor affecting Uyghur, Tibetan, and other minority groups.

China’s embassy in London has dismissed the allegations, calling forced labor claims a “lie of the century” concocted by anti-China elements. “There’s no ‘forced labor’ in Xinjiang,” a spokesperson told Politico, insisting the region’s products are “high-quality and widely welcomed.”

The EU Enforcement Gap

The controversy highlights a significant gap in European trade enforcement. The EU adopted a Forced Labour Regulation in July 2024, prohibiting products made with forced labor from being sold in the European market. However, while the regulation entered into force in December 2024, its primary compliance provisions will not apply until December 2027 — creating a multi-year window during which controversial cargo can flow relatively unchecked.

“Europe’s commitment to eradicating forced labor from supply chains must extend beyond policy declarations,” Henryk Szadziewski, Director of Research at the Uyghur Human Rights Project, told Politico. “Every uninspected shipment from Ürümqi represents a failure to act — and a potential violation of Uyghur human rights.”

What’s Next

The reestablishment of this route poses a significant test for Belgian and European authorities. Questions remain about what goods are being transported, whether Belgian customs will inspect the flights, and what position the Walloon government — which oversees Liège Airport — will take. With the EU’s forced labor enforcement mechanisms still years from full implementation, the route from Ürümqi to Liège may become a flashpoint in the ongoing tension between Europe’s economic interests and its human rights commitments.

As the Air Silk Road continues to expand, the response from Brussels and the Walloon regional government will be closely watched as an indicator of whether the EU’s stated principles translate into meaningful action at the border.